Communication apparatus and communication method

ABSTRACT

In an AP, a Trigger frame generator generates a trigger signal instructing an uplink signal transmission, the trigger signal including a terminal information field that includes a terminal ID subfield and a resource unit allocation information subfield, and a radio transmitter/receiver transmits the trigger signal. In a case where the trigger signal includes a first terminal information field specifying one or more contiguous resource units for random access, the Trigger frame generator sets an unused ID that is not to be used as a terminal ID in the first terminal information field.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.17/353,375 filed on Jun. 21, 2021 which is a Continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 16/473,368 filed Jun. 25, 2019, which is a U.S.national stage application of the PCT International Application No.PCT/JP2018/003944 filed on Feb. 6, 2018, which claims the benefit offoreign priority of Japanese patent application 2017-030217 filed onFeb. 21, 2017, the contents all of which are incorporated herein byreference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a communication apparatus and acommunication method.

BACKGROUND ART

In IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.11Working Groups, a Task Group ax has been working to establish technicalspecifications of IEEE 802.11ax (hereinafter, referred to as “11ax”) asa next version of 802.11ac standard. In 11ax, Random Access (RA) basedon OFDMA (Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access) has beenintroduced.

An Access Point (AP, also called a “base station”) transmits, to aplurality of terminals (also called STAs (Stations)) associated with theAP, a control signal to instruct them to transmit an uplink OFDMA signal(hereinafter, this control signal is referred to as a “Trigger frame”).

In the Trigger frame, a Common Info field and a User Info field aredefined. The Common Info field includes information which is commonamong a plurality of terminals multiplexed by OFDMA. The User Info fieldincludes information specific to each of the terminals multiplexed bythe OFDMA (see, for example, NPL 1 and NPL 4).

The Common Info field includes a Trigger Type subfield specifying aTrigger Type indicating a type of the Trigger frame (a type of a signalinstructed to a terminal, by the AP, to transmit) (see, for example NPL2 and NPL 3).

The User Info field includes an AID12 subfield used to inform of anAssociation ID (AID) which is an ID uniquely assigned to a terminal whenthe terminal is associated. Hereinafter, a “Scheduled access” denotes amethod in which an AID assigned to a specific terminal is informed tothe terminal thereby allocating a frequency resource unit (RU) to theterminal. Furthermore, in 11ax, it has been agreed that by setting oneof unused AIDs such that AID=0, each terminal is informed that afrequency resource (RU) specified in an RU Allocation subfield in a UserInfo field is an RU for RA (RA-RU) (for example, see NPL 1).

Furthermore, in a meeting of 11ax, it has been further agreed that aTrigger frame may include a new User Info field (called a “modified UserInfo”) dedicated for RA (NPL 5). In the modified User Info, one UserInfo field specifies one or more contiguous RA-RUs for a terminal.

CITATION LIST Non Patent Literature

-   NPL 1: IEEE 802.11-15/0132r17 “Specification Framework for TGax”-   NPL 2: IEEE 802.11-16/0024r1 “Proposed TGax draft specification”-   NPL 3: IEEE 802.11-16/0806r0 “HE Variant HT Control—Buffer Status    Report”-   NPL 4: IEEE 802.11-16/0617r1 “Remaining Topics in Power Control”-   NPL 5: IEEE 802.11-16/1516r1 “CIDs for: Section 9.3.1.23 Random    Access CIDs”-   NPL 6: IEEE 802.11-16/0725r3 “CIDs for: Trigger Frame Format Comment    Resolution—Type Dependent Per user information section 9.3.1.23”-   NPL 7: IEEE 802.11-16/0938r1 “Resolution for CID 1589, 1590, 2668,    and 2669 on Multi-TID Aggregation in Sub-clause 25.10.4”

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

However, no sufficient discussion has been made as to how to apply themodified User Info in the Trigger frame.

In an aspect, the present disclosure provides a communication apparatusand a communication method capable of properly setting the modified UserInfo in the Trigger frame.

According to an aspect of the present disclosure, a communicationapparatus includes a trigger signal generator that generates a triggersignal instructing an uplink signal transmission, the trigger signalincluding a terminal information field that includes a terminal IDsubfield and a resource unit allocation information subfield, wherein ina case where the trigger signal includes a first terminal informationfield specifying one or more contiguous resource units for randomaccess, an unused ID that is not to be used as a terminal ID is set inthe terminal ID subfield in the first terminal information field, and atransmitter that transmits the generated trigger signal.

General or specific embodiments may be implemented as a system, anapparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or astorage medium or any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method,an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a storage.

According to the aspect of the present disclosure, it is possible toproperly set the modified User Info in the Trigger frame.

Additional benefits and advantages of the disclosed embodiments willbecome apparent from the specification and drawings. The benefits and/oradvantages may be individually obtained by the various embodiments andfeatures of the specification and drawings, which need not all beprovided in order to obtain one or more of such benefits and/oradvantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a format of a Trigger frame.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a format of a Common Info field of aTrigger frame.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a Trigger Type of a Trigger frame.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a format of a User Info field of aTrigger frame.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a format of a User Info field ofTrigger Dependent User Info field.

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating a format of a modified User Info fieldof a Trigger frame.

FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating an example of an RA-RU specified by amodified User Info field.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a partialconfiguration of an AP according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration ofan AP according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a terminalaccording to the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 1-1) ofan RA-RU specified by a modified User Info according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 1-2) ofan RA-RU specified by a modified User Info according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 1-2) ofan RA-RU specified by a modified User Info according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 1-2) ofan RA-RU specified by a User Info according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 2) ofan RA-RU specified by a User Info according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 2) ofan RA-RU specified by a User Info according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 2-1) ofan RA-RU specified by a User Info according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 2-2) ofan RA-RU specified by a modified User Info according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 2-2) ofan RA-RU specified by a modified User Info according to the firstembodiment.

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration ofan AP according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration ofa terminal according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 1) ofan RA-RU specified by a User Info according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 2) ofan RA-RU specified by a User Info according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example (a specific example 3) ofan RA-RU specified by a User Info according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating an example of an RA-RU specified by aUser Info according to another embodiment.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of aTrigger frame according to another embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below withreference to drawings. In the embodiments described below, similarelements are denoted by similar reference symbols, and a duplicateddescription thereof is omitted.

First Embodiment [Trigger Frame]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a Triggerframe which is under discussion in 11ax. The Trigger frame defines aCommon Info field including information which is common among aplurality of terminals multiplexed by OFDMA and a User Info fieldincluding specific information to each of terminals multiplexed by OFDMA(see, for example, NPL 1).

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a Common Infofield of a Trigger frame (see, for example, NPL 1). A Trigger Typesubfield specifies a Trigger Type. FIG. 3 illustrates defined TriggerTypes (see, for example, NPL 2). It is under discussion to define anadditional Trigger Type for instructing a terminal to reporttransmission buffer information (hereinafter referred to as BufferStatus Report Poll (BSRP)) in addition to the defined Trigger Typesshown in FIG. 3 (see, for example, NPL 3). A Trigger Dependent CommonInfo subfield may include terminal-common information suitable for(dependent on) a specific Trigger type.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a User Infofield of a Trigger frame (see, for example, NPL 1 and NPL 4). In theformat shown in FIG. 4 , the size of a Target RSSI subfield, which wasnot yet determined in NPL 1, is determined to be seven bits according toa suggestion in NPL 4. An AID12 subfield is used to inform of an AID.When the AID is set such that AID=0, it is indicated that the RUspecified in a User Info field is an RA-RU (see, for example, NPL 1). ATrigger Dependent User Info subfield may include terminal-specificinformation suitable for (dependent on) a specific Trigger type.

Hereinafter, a User Info field specifying a radio resource for aterminal in units of RUs is denoted as “normal User Info” to distinguishfrom the “modified User Info”. The normal User Info and the modifiedUser Info may be generically referred to as “User Info”.

Furthermore, in 11ax, as one of Trigger Types, a Basic Trigger isdefined. In the Basic Trigger, the format of an uplink signal is notlimited to specific ones (see, for example, FIG. 3 ). As a response tothe Basic Trigger, a response using Scheduled access and a responseusing random access are allowed. In a case where the Trigger Type is theBasic Trigger, the Trigger Dependent User Info subfield of the User Infofield includes information (restriction information) indicating arestriction on the transmission of the uplink signal as shown in FIG. 5(see, for example, NPL 6 and NPL 7).

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5 , a Type dependent Per User Infosubfield includes a 2-bit “MPDU MU Spacing Factor” indicating a minimumallowable interval of an MPDU (an MAC protocol data unit) processable bythe AP, a 3-bit “TID Aggregation Limit” indicating a maximum number ofTIDs included in the MPDU, a 1-bit “AC Preference Level” functioning asa flag indicating whether to specify an Access Category (AC, a type oftransmission data) recommended by the AP, and a 2-bit “Preferred AC”indicating a parameter indicating an AC recommended by the AP. These areparameters for using an A-MPDU (Aggregate MAC protocol data unit), whichis an aggregate of a plurality of MPDUs, as an uplink signal in responseto a Trigger frame, or parameters for specifying AC to be transmitted.

[Modified User Info]

FIG. 6A is a diagram illustrating an example of a format of a modifiedUser Info.

In the Trigger frame using the normal User Info, one arbitrary RU isspecified using one User Info field. That is, in the Trigger frame usingthe normal User Info, to specify a plurality of RA-RUs, a plurality ofUser Info fields are used.

In contrast, in the modified User Info, locations of specified RUs arelimited to one continuous band. This makes it possible to specify aplurality of RUs using one modified User Info field. For example, in themodified User Info shown in FIG. 6A, an RU Allocation subfield specifiesa starting RU location of a continuous band of RA-RUs and a size of anRU (see FIG. 6B). Furthermore, in the modified User Info, when thenumber of spatially multiplexed streams in transmission of RA-RUs islimited to “1” (that is, MIMO is not used), an SS Allocation subfieldshown in FIG. 6A specifies not the number of spatially multiplexedstreams but the number of RA-RUs (the number of contiguous RUs) startingat the RA-RU notified by the RU Allocation subfield (see FIG. 6B). Notethat the RU size of each RA-RU is specified by the RU size notified bythe RU Allocation subfield. Information described in a Coding Type, MCS,DCM, and Target RSSI subfields of the modified User Info shown in FIG.6A are common for a plurality of RA-RUs specified by the RU Allocationand the SS Allocation.

Furthermore, in the modified User Info, as shown in FIG. 6A, the TriggerDependent User Info subfield is deleted. In the Trigger frame using themodified User Info, the Trigger Dependent Common Info subfield isdeleted. As a result, a reduction in the Trigger frame size is achieved.

As described above, in the modified User Info, a part of parametersspecified by the normal User Info are shared by a plurality of RUs (aplurality of terminals) such that one or more contiguous RA-RUs arespecified by one User info field thereby achieving a reduction in theTrigger frame size.

The modified User Info has been described above.

According to the present disclosure, a method of applying the modifiedUser Info in the Trigger frame is described below.

For example, to apply the modified User Info, a new Trigger Typespecifying RA transmission (hereinafter, referred to as “RA trigger”)may be added in Reserved of the Trigger Type subfield shown in FIG. 3 .When the RA trigger is specified as the Trigger Type, use of themodified User Info allows a reduction in the Trigger frame size.Furthermore, when the RA trigger is specified as the Trigger Type, bydeleting the Trigger Dependent Common Info subfield and the TriggerDependent User Info subfield, it becomes possible to reduce the Triggerframe size.

However, specifying the modified User Info by the RA Trigger describedabove uses (consumes) the Reserved field of the Trigger type, whichresults in a reduction in room of a further extension of the standard.

Furthermore, the RA Trigger is allowed to be specified only by themodified User Info, and thus only one contiguous-RU group can bespecified by one parameter. Therefore, in a case where a part of RUsexisting in a system band are expected to have performance degradation(for example, an RU located near a DC or an RU in which interference isobserved), it is necessary to set high-error-resilience robustparameters (for example, MCS) for all RUs specified by the modified UserInfo, and thus a reduction in throughput occurs.

In view of the above, the present disclosure provides a method ofspecifying a plurality of RA-RUs by a small-size Trigger frame using amodified User Info while maintaining the future extensibility of theTrigger Type (that is, without adding a new Trigger type such as an RATrigger or the like), and a method of specifying an RU-specificparameter even in a case whether the modified User Info is employed.

[Configuration of Wireless Communication System]

In the present embodiment, a wireless communication system includes anAP (radio transmission apparatus) 100 and a terminal (radio receptionapparatus) 200. The AP 100 transmits a Trigger frame instructing RAtransmission to the terminal 200. The terminal 200 receives the Triggerframe, and transmits an RA to the AP 100 using a resource specified inthe Trigger frame.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram partially illustrating a configuration of theAP 100 according to the present embodiment. In the AP 100 shown in FIG.7 , a Trigger frame generator 104 generates a Trigger frame (a triggersignal) instructing to transmit an uplink signal. A radiotransmitter/receiver 106 transmits the Trigger frame. In a case wherethe Trigger frame includes a modified User Info field (a first terminalinformation field) specifying one or more contiguous RA-RUs, the Triggerframe generator 104 sets an unused AID, which is not to be used as anAID (a terminal ID), in an AID12 subfield (terminal ID subfield) in themodified User Info field.

[Configuration of AP]

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the AP 100according to the present embodiment. The AP 100 generates a Triggerframe (a trigger signal) to instruct the terminal 200 to transmit anuplink signal (for example, an RA signal), and transmits the generatedTrigger frame to the terminal 200.

In FIG. 8 , the AP 100 includes an RA resource controller 101, a UserInfo controller 102, an AID controller 103, a Trigger frame generator104, a transmission signal modulator 105, a radio transmitter/receiver106, an antenna 107, a reception signal demodulator 108, and a qualityestimator 109. The radio transmitter/receiver 106 includes a transmitterand a reception unit. The RA resource controller 101, the User Infocontroller 102, the AID controller 103, the Trigger frame generator 104,and the quality estimator 109 together form a media access control (MAC)unit.

The RA resource controller 101 determines a band to be allocated to anRA-RU within a system band based on the reception quality for each RUwith a predetermined size output from the quality estimator 109. The RAresource controller 101 outputs RA resource information indicating theband to which the RA-RU is allocated to the User Info controller 102 andthe Trigger frame generator 104.

The RA resource information includes, for example, informationassociated with RA-RUs allocated within the system band, controlinformation for generating the RA signal (Coding Type, MCS, DCM, SSAllocation, and Target RSSI included in the User Info field), and/or thelike. For example, for an RU with a low reception quality such as an RUoverlapping with a band, used by another service, in the system band, anRU corresponding to a DC frequency in a baseband when being demodulated,an RU subject to relative strong interference, or the lie, the RAresource controller 101 may apply a high-error-resilience MCS (forexample, BPSK) or a relatively high target RSSI level (for example, −60dBm). For another RU subject to relatively low interference, the RAresource controller 101 may apply an MCS (for example, 16QAM) thatprovides a higher transmission efficiency or a target RSSI level (forexample, −70 dBm) that causes less interference to another terminal.

The User Info controller 102 controls the User Info field included inthe Trigger frame based on the RA resource information output from theRA resource controller 101, and outputs a control result to the Triggerframe generator 104.

More specifically, the User Infor controller 102 determines a User Inforfield format (the modified User Info or the normal User Info) to be usedand an RA-RU to be specified by the User Info field. For example, in acase where the modified User Info is used, the User Infor controller 102determines to specify a plurality of RA-RUs in the RU Allocation and theSS Allocation of the User Info field and specify a parameter that iscommon for these RA-RUs. On the other hand, in a case where the normalUser Info is used, the User Info controller 102 determines to specifyone RA-RU in the User Info field and specify an individual parameterassociated with the RA-RU.

The AID controller 103 determines an AID (information described in theAID12 subfield of the Trigger frame) for specifying a format of the UserInfo field (the modified User Info or the normal User Info). The AIDcontroller 103 outputs AID information indicating the determined AID tothe Trigger frame generator 104.

For example, the AID controller 103 may set, as the AID for specifyingthe RA-RU, an unused AID (in the specifications for 11ax, one of AID=0,2008 to 4094) which is not to be used as a terminal-specific AID forScheduled access. Details of the definition of the AID for specifyingthe format of the User Info field will be described later.

The Trigger frame generator (the trigger signal generator) 104 generatesa Trigger frame for instructing the terminal 200 to perform an RAtransmission (for example, an OFDMA-based RA transmission) (see, forexample, FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , FIG. 4 , and FIG. 6A). More specifically,based on information output from the User Info controller 102, theTrigger frame generator 104 sets, in the respective subfields of theUser Info field, parameters indicated by the RA resource informationoutput from the RA resource controller 101.

For example, in a case where the modified User Info is employed, basedon the RA resource information (allocation of RA-RU) output from the RAresource controller 101, the Trigger frame generator 104 sets a startingRU location and an RU size of RA-RUs located in a continuous band in theRU Allocation subfield and sets the number of contiguous RA-RUs in theSS allocation subfield. On the other hand, in a case where the normalUser Info is employed, based on the RA resource information (allocationof RA-RU) output from the RA resource controller 101, the Trigger framegenerator 104 sets a starting location and an RU size of one RA-RU inthe RU Allocation subfield.

Furthermore, based on information output from the AID controller 103 andinformation output from the User Info controller 102, the Trigger framegenerator 104 sets an AID corresponding to a format of the User Infofield in the AID12 subfield of the Trigger frame.

The Trigger frame generator 104 then outputs the generated Trigger frame(the trigger signal) to the transmission signal modulator 105.

The transmission signal modulator 105 performs a coding-and-modulatingprocess on the Trigger frame output from the Trigger frame generator104. Furthermore, the transmission signal modulator 105 adds, to themodulated signal, control signals (also called preamble) such as a pilotsignal used in frequency synchronization and timing synchronization at areceiving end (the terminal 200), a channel estimation signal, and/orthe like thereby generating a radio frame (a transmission signal), andthe transmission signal modulator 105 outputs the resultant the radioframe (the transmission signal) to the radio transmitter/receiver 106.

The radio transmitter/receiver 106 performs a predetermined radiotransmission process including a D/A conversation, a frequencyup-conversion to a carrier frequency, and the like on the radio frame(the transmission signal) output from the transmission signal modulator105, and the radio transmitter/receiver 106 transmits the resultantsignal subjected to the radio transmission process to the terminal 200via the antenna 107. The radio transmitter/receiver 106 receives asignal transmitted from the terminal 200 via the antenna 107, andperforms a predetermined radio reception process including adown-conversion to a baseband, an A/D conversion, and the like on thereceived signal, and the radio transmitter/receiver 106 outputs theresultant signal subjected to the radio reception process to thereception signal demodulator 108.

The reception signal demodulator 108 extracts a radio frame byperforming autocorrelation processing or the like on the signal outputfrom the radio transmitter/receiver 106, and outputs the extracted radioframe to the quality estimator 109.

The quality estimator 109 estimates reception quality of each RU withthe predetermined size by using the pilot signal included in the radioframe output from the reception signal demodulator 108, and outputs anestimation result to the RA resource controller 101.

[Configuration of Terminal]

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the terminal200 according to the present embodiment. The terminal 200 receives theTrigger frame instructing an RA transmission from the AP 100, randomlyselects one RU from the RA-RUs specified in the Trigger frame, and thetransmits an RA signal to the AP 100.

In FIG. 9 , the terminal 200 includes an antenna 201, a radiotransmitter/receiver 202, a reception signal demodulator 203, a Triggerframe decoder 204, an AID controller 205, an RA resource determinationunit 206, an RA generator 207, and a transmission signal modulator 208.The radio transmitter/receiver 202 includes a transmitter and areception unit. The AID controller 205, the RA resource determinationunit 206, and the RA generator 207 together form an access controller(MAC).

The radio transmitter/receiver 202 receives the Trigger frameinstructing the RA transmission transmitted from the AP 100 via theantenna 201, and performs a predetermined radio reception processincluding a down-conversion to the baseband, an A/D conversion, and/orthe like on the received signal, and the radio transmitter/receiver 202outputs the resultant signal subjected to the radio reception process tothe reception signal demodulator 203. The radio transmitter/receiver 202performs a predetermined radio transmission process including a D/Aconversion, an up-conversion to a carrier frequency, and the like on thesignal output from the transmission signal modulator 208 describedlater, and the radio transmitter/receiver 202 transmits the resultantsignal subjected to the radio transmission process to the AP 100 via theantenna 201.

The reception signal demodulator 203 extracts a radio frame (a Triggerframe) by performing an autocorrelation processing or the like on thesignal output from the radio transmitter/receiver 202, and outputs theresultant extracted radio frame (the Trigger frame) to the Trigger framedecoder 204.

The Trigger frame decoder 204 detects the format of the User Info fieldincluded in the Triger frame output from the reception signaldemodulator 203, decodes the Trigger frame, and outputs the resultantdecoded Trigger frame to the RA resource determination unit 206.

The AID controller 205 operates in a similar manner to the AIDcontroller 103 of the AP 100. More specifically, the AID controller 205determines an AID (information described in the AID12 subfield of theTrigger frame) for specifying a format (the modified User Info or thenormal User Info) of the User Info field. The AID controller 205 outputsAID information indicating the determined AID to the RA resourcedetermination unit 206. Details of the definition of the AID forspecifying the format of the User Info field will be described later.

Based on the AID information output from the AID controller 205 and theinformation described in the Trigger frame output from the Trigger framedecoder 204, the RA resource determination unit 206 determines an RA-RUand control information for generating an RA signal. The RA resourcedetermination unit 206 outputs the determined control information forgenerating an RA-RU and an RA signal to the RA generator 207.

More specifically, based on the AID information, the RA resourcedetermination unit 206 identifies the format (the modified User Info orthe normal User Info) of the User Info field corresponding to the AIDincluded in the AID12 subfield of the Trigger frame output from theTrigger frame decoder 204.

In a case where the format of the User Info field is the modified UserInfo, the RA resource determination unit 206 identifies the startinglocation and the RU size of the RA-RUs from the RU Allocation subfield,identifies the number of RA-RUs (the number of contiguous RUs) from theSS Allocation subfield, applies other parameters specified in therespective subfields of the modified User Info field, in common, to theplurality of RA-RUs, and determines an RA-RU by randomly selecting oneof the plurality of RA-RUs.

On the other hand, in a case where the format of the User Info field isthe normal User Info, the RA resource determination unit 206 identifiesthe starting location and the RU size of one RA-RU from the RUAllocation subfield, and applies other parameters specified in therespective subfields (including the SS allocation subfield) of thenormal User Info field individually to one RA-RU.

Based on the control information for generating the RA-RU and the RAsignal output from the RA resource determination unit 206, the RAgenerator 207 generates an RA signal including the terminal ID and thetransmission information (data or control information or the like)associated with the terminal 200, and outputs the resultant RA signal tothe transmission signal modulator 208.

The transmission signal modulator 208 performs coding/modulating on theRA signal. The transmission signal modulator 208 adds, to the modulatedsignal, a control signal (preamble) such as a pilot signal used infrequency synchronization and timing synchronization at the AP 100, achannel estimation signal, and/or the like thereby generating a radioframe (a transmission signal), and the transmission signal modulator 208outputs the resultant the radio frame (the transmission signal) to theradio transmitter/receiver 202. Note that the RA signal isfrequency-mapped to the RA-RU indicated by the information determined bythe RA resource determination unit 206.

[Operations of AP 100 and Terminal 200]

Operations of the AP 100 and the terminal 200 according to the presentembodiment are described in detail below.

The AP 100 (the Trigger frame generator 104) sets an unused AID in theAID12 subfield (terminal ID subfield) of the modified User Infospecifying one or more contiguous RA-RUs in the Trigger frame therebynotifying the terminal 200 that the User Info field including the unusedAID is the modified User Info.

Note that the unused AID is a terminal-specific AID for Scheduled access(that is, a scheduled AID assigned to the terminal 200) (in the presentspecifications of 11ax, the unused AID is 0 or one of 2008 to 4094).

As described above, by specifying, using an unused AID, that themodified User Info is to be employed, it is possible to specify aplurality of RA-RUs using the modified User Info in the small-sizeTrigger frame while maintaining the future extensibility of the TriggerType (that is, without newly adding an RA Trigger as one of TriggerTypes).

Specific examples 1 and 2 of methods of specifying the format of theUser Info field using an unused AID are described below.

Specific Example 1

In a specific example 1, only one unused AID is used to specify anRA-RU.

That is, the AID controller 103, 205 determines one unused AID forspecifying the modified User Info. For example, the AID controller 103,205 determines that AID=0 as the unused AID for specifying the modifiedUser ID. That is the Trigger frame generator 104 sets AID=0 (unused AID)in the AID12 subfield thereby informing the terminal 200 that the UserInfo field including the AID12 subfield is in the modified User Infoformat.

Note that in the specific example 1, specifying of an RA-RU using thenormal User Info is not performed. That is, in the specific example 1,any RA-RU is specified by the modified User Info.

For example, the Trigger frame generator 104 may set a plurality ofmodified User Info's to make it possible to set parameters individuallyfor the respectively modified User Info's. That is, in the specificexample 1, a small-size Trigger frame including a modified User Info isused. This makes it possible to achieve an operation similar to theoperation of allocating an RA-RU by the normal User Info (that is,setting individually for each RU). Note that in the specific example 1,in RA transmission, the number of spatial multiplexing level is limitedto 1 (no MIMO).

Specific examples 1-1 and 1-2 of the specific example 1 are describedbelow for a case where the modified User Info is specified using oneunused AID (AID=0).

Specific Example 1-1

In specific example 1-1, the Trigger frame generator 104 of the AP 100sets one modified User Info in one Trigger frame.

More specifically, as in an example shown in FIG. 10 , the Trigger framegenerator 104 sets an AID in an AID12 subfield of one modified User Infosuch that AID=0, which is an unused AID thereby informing the terminal200 that the User Info field including this AID12 subfield is themodified User Info.

That is, the Trigger frame generator 104 sets a starting RU location andan RU size of a plurality of RA-RUs in the RU Allocation subfield shownin FIG. 10 , and sets, in the SS allocation subfield, not the number ofspatially multiplexed streams, but the number of contiguous RA-RUs. Forexample, in a case where a value taken in the SS allocation subfield is0 to 63 (6 bits), it is allowed to notify, using the SS allocationsubfield, of the number of contiguous RA-RUs in the range from 1 to 64.This makes it possible for the AP 100 to specify to the terminal 200 anyone of contiguous RUs including 1 to 64 RUs by one modified User Info.In the example shown in FIG. 10 , seven contiguous RA-RUs (contiguousRUs=7) are specified by one modified User Info.

In the specific example 1-1, as described above, all RA-RUs arespecified using one modified User Info, and thus a reduction in theTrigger frame size is achieved.

Specific Example 1-2

In the specific example 1-2, the Trigger frame generator 104 of the AP100 sets a plurality of modified User Info's using one Trigger frame.

More specifically, as in an example shown in FIG. 11 , the Trigger framegenerator 104 generates a Trigger frame such that two modified User Infofields are included in one Trigger frame. As in the specific example1-1, the Trigger frame generator 104 sets AID=0, which is an unusedAIDs, in the AID12 subfield of each modified User Info field therebyinforming the terminal 200 that each User Info field including thisAID12 subfield is a modified User Info.

In FIG. 11 , the AP 100 specifies seven contiguous RA-RUs in a firstmodified User Info and specifies MCS #1 (for example, 16QAM) for theseRUs. Furthermore, the AP 100 specifies one RA-RU in a second modifiedUser Info and specifies MCS #2 (for example, QPSK) for this RU.

In a case where there is overlapping in RA-RU among a plurality ofmodified User Info's as in the example shown in FIG. 11 (in the exampleshown in FIG. 11 , an RU in the center of seven RA-RUs is overlapping),the RA resource determination unit 206 of the terminal 200 givespriority a modified User Info, of a plurality of modified User Info's,that specifies a smaller number of contiguous RUs. That is, in FIG. 11 ,priority is given to a modified User Info specifying one RA-RU(contiguous RUs=1) in the SS Allocation, and thus MCS #2 is used for thecentral RU.

This makes it possible to use a plurality of different parameters for aplurality of RA-RUs specified by one Trigger frame. Furthermore, bysetting the number of contiguous RUs specified by the modified User Infoto 1, it becomes possible to specify a parameter individually for eachRU. For example, in FIG. 11 , to the central RU of seven contiguousRA-RUs, a parameter (MCS) different from those to the other RUs is set.That is, in FIG. 11 , of seven contiguous RA-RUs, the same parameter(MCS) is set to six RUs forming discontinuous bands other than thecentral RU.

For example, by setting a plurality of modified User Info's in oneTrigger frame, it becomes possible for the AP 100 to set a robust MCS(for example, QPSK) to an RU (for example an RU located close to DC) ofa plurality of contiguous RA-RUs such as those shown in FIG. 11 .

In the specific example 1-2, as described above, it is possible tospecify a parameter (MCS, target RSSI, or the like) individually to eachRA for RA in a similar manner to the manner by the normal User Infoexcept that the spatial multiplexing is limited to spatial multiplexinglevel=1 (no MIMO) for all RA-RUs.

Thus, according to the specific example 1-2, even in a case where themodified User Info is used, it is possible to specify a parameterindividually to each RU, which makes it possible to use a parameterdepending on a predicted performance for each RU, and thus an increasein throughput can be achieved.

Furthermore, in the specific example 1-2, by defining a rule regardingpriority applied when there is an overlap among RUs specified by aplurality of modified User Info's, the AP 100 is capable of specifying aparameter depending on the predicted performance of the RU by a Triggerframe with a small size (with a small number of User Info fields).

Note that a method of allocating RA-RUs by a plurality of modified UserInfo's included in one Trigger frame is not limited to that shown in theexample of FIG. 11 .

For example, as shown in FIG. 12 , the AP 100 may specify RUs by twomodified User Info's included in one Trigger frame such that there is nooverlap between the two modified User Info's. In FIG. 12 , the AP 100specifies four RA-RUs by a first modified User Info and specifies MCS #1(for example, 16QAM) for these RUs, and the AP 100 specifies, by asecond modified User Info, three RA-RUs in an area adjacent to the fourRA-RUs specified by the first modified User Info (that is, such thatthere is no overlap in the area), and specifies MCS #2 (for example,QPSK) for these RUs.

As shown in FIG. 13 , the AP 100 may specify RUs by two modified UserInfo's included in one Trigger frame such that RUs specified by therespective modified User Info's are located in areas separated from eachother. In FIG. 13 , the AP 100 specifies four RA-RUs by a first modifiedUser Info and three RA-RUs by a second modified User Info such that thethree RA-RUs are in an area separated from the four RAs for RA specifiedby the first modified User Info's (and thus there is no overlap).

Although in FIG. 13 , MCS #1 is applied to RUs specified by any modifiedUser Info, a different parameter may be specified individually by eachmodified User Info. That is, an identical parameter in terms of MCS orlike may be set for a plurality of modified User Info's or a differentparameter may be set individually for each modified User Info, as inFIG. 12 . Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 13 , there may an arbitrary RUsuch as a Scheduled access RU or an unspecified RU (unallocated RU)between the two areas specified by the respective two modified UserInfo's. Note that in a case where parameters in terms of Coding Type,MCS, and DCM are set in common for all RUs specified by a plurality ofUser Info's, a reduction occurs in a degree of flexibility in makingsetting depending on a transmission characteristic or the like of eachRU. However, in OFDMA-based random access, when a terminal obtains atransmission right, one RU is randomly selected from all RA-RUsndomaccess. Therefore, if there is a difference in the amount of data thatcan be transmitted by an RU among RUs specified in a plurality ofmodified User Info's, it is necessary to determine the amount of data ofa transmission frame after the terminal selects an RU, which results inan increase in complexity of the transmission frame generation process.However, in the case where a common parameter is used for a plurality ofmodified User Info's, the amount of data capable of being transmitted isequal for all RA-RUsndom access, which allows simplification in thetransmission frame generation process performed at a terminal.

In examples described above with reference to FIGS. 11 to 13 , it isassumed by way of example, that two modified User Info's are included inone Trigger frame. However, three or more modified User Info's may beincluded in one Trigger frame.

Specific Example 2

In specific example 2, a plurality of unused AIDs are used to specifyRA-RUs.

That is, the AID controller 103, 205 determines a plurality of unusedAIDs for specifying User Info's (a modified User Info or a normal UserInfo) indicating RA-RUs.

The AID controller 103, 205 determines User Info's specifying RA-RUswhile distinguishing between an unused AID corresponding to a normalUser Info and an unused AID corresponding to a modified User Info. Forexample, the AID controller 103, 205 determines AID=0 as an unused AIDfor specifying a normal User Info and AID=2048 as an unused AID foridentifying a modified User Info.

That is, the Trigger frame generator 104 sets AID=0 in the AID12subfield thereby informing the terminal 200 that the User Info fieldincluding the AID12 subfield is in the normal User Info format, andspecifies one RA-RU. Furthermore, the Trigger frame generator 104 setsAID=2048 (an unused AID different from AID=0) in the AID12 subfieldthereby informing the terminal 200 that the User Info field includingthe AID12 subfield is in the modified User Info format, and specifies aplurality of RA-RUs (contiguous RA-RUs).

AID=2048 corresponds to a value that is set in the 12-bit AID12 subfieldsuch that only the MSB (most significant bit) is 1 and the otherlower-order 11 bits are all 0. Thus, in a case where the AID is set suchthat AID=0 or 2048 as described above, the terminal 200 determines thatthe User Info for RA is specified when lower-order 11 bits are all equalto 0. That is, it is possible to determine whether a modified User Infoor a normal User Info is specified only from the MSB, and thussimplification of the process performed by the terminal 200 is achieved.

In the example shown in FIG. 14 , the Trigger frame generator 104 of theAP 100 sets a plurality of unused AIDs (AID=0, 2048) such that AID=0 isset in the AID12 subfield of a normal User Info, and AID=2048 is set inthe AID12 subfield of each modified User Info. Furthermore, in FIG. 14 ,the AP 100 specifies three RA-RUs (contiguous RUs=3) by each of twomodified User Info's and specifies MCS #1 (for example, 16QAM) for eachof these RUs. The AP 100 also specifies one RA-RU by one normal UserInfo and specifies MCS #2 (for example, QPSK) for this RU.

This makes it possible to use a plurality of different parametersdistinctively for a plurality of RA-RUs specified in one Trigger frame.It is also possible to specify a parameter individually for each RU bymaking setting such that the number of contiguous RUs=1 specified by themodified User Info or a parameter is specified individually for each RUwhen the normal User Info is used. For example, in FIG. 14 , a centralRU in seven contiguous RA-RUs is set with a parameter (MCS) differentfrom parameters set in the other RUs. That is, in FIG. 14 , of sevencontiguous RA-RUs, six RUs other than a central RU form a discontinuousband, and the same parameter (MCS) is set to these six RUs.

For example, the AP 100 is capable of setting a high-error-resiliencerobust MCS individually to a part of RUs (for example, a central RU)predicted to encounter degradation in performance by using a normal UserInfo or a modified User Info in which the number of contiguous RUs isset to 1.

According to the specific example 2, as described above, it is possibleto apply a parameter depending on predicted performance for each RU bycombining a normal User Info and a modified User Info thereby achievingan increase in throughput. Furthermore, according to the specificexample 2, the AP 100 is also capable of specifying contiguous RA-RUsusing a modified User Info as in the specific example 1 thereby reducingthe Trigger frame size. Furthermore, in the specific example 2, it isalso possible to set the number of spatially multiplexed streams in theSS allocation subfield (that is, it possible to use MIMO) using a normalUser Info.

Note that in FIG. 14 , by way of example, AID=0 is set in the normalUser Info and AID=2048 is set in the modified User Info's. However,values of unused AIDs set in the normal User Info and the modified UserInfo are not limited to 0 and 2048, and another value may be set.

Furthermore, in the specific example 2, RA-RUs specified in one Triggerframe are not necessarily need to be contiguous as in the example shownin FIG. 14 , but RUs located in discontinuous areas separated apart fromeach other may be specified, for example, as in an example shown in FIG.15 .

A specific example 2-1 and a specific example 2-2, which are furtherdetailed examples of the specific example 2, of methods of specifying,using an unused ID, that the User Info field is the normal User Info orthe modified User Info are described below.

Specific Example 2-1

In the specific example 2-1, the Trigger frame generator 104 of the AP100 informs the terminal 200 of the RA-RU specified by the normal UserInfo (AID=0) and the contiguous RA-RUs specified by the modified UserInfo (an unused AID with a value of AID #0).

More specifically, as in an example shown in FIG. 16 , the Trigger framegenerator 104 specifies seven RA-RUs (contiguous RUs=7) using a modifiedUser Info (AID=2048) and specifies MCS #1 (for example, 16QAM) for theseRUs. Furthermore, the Trigger frame generator 104 specifies one RA-RUusing a normal User Info (AID=0) and specifies MCS #2 (for example,QPSK) for this RU.

In a case where there is an overlap between one RA-RU specified by thenormal User Info and contiguous RA-RUs specified by the modified UserInfo as shown in FIG. 16 , (in FIG. 16 , occurs at the central RU inseven RA-RUs), the RA resource determination unit 206 of the terminal200 gives priority to the normal User Info specifying the RU. That is,in FIG. 16 , as for the central RU, priority is given to the normal UserInfo, and thus MCS #2 is applied to the central RU.

Thus, in the specific example 2-1, as in the specific example 2 (FIG. 14), it is possible to use a plurality of parameters distinctively forRA-RUs specified in one Trigger frame. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, the AP 100 may setting a high-error-resilience robust MCS individuallyto a part of RUs (for example, a central RU) predicted to encounterdegradation in performance by using a normal User Info.

In the specific example 2-1, by defining a rule indicating which RU isgiven priority in a case where there is an overlap between an RUspecified by a normal User Info and an RU specified by a modified UserInfo, the AP 100 is capable of specifying a parameter depending on thepredicted performance of the RU by a Trigger frame with a small size(with a small number of User Info fields). For example, in the specificexample 2-1 (FIG. 16 ), it is possible to make similar setting of RA-RUsto the setting in the specific example 2 (FIG. 14 ) by using a Triggerframe with a smaller size (with a smaller number of User Info fields).

Specific Example 2-2

In the specific example 2-2, each of a plurality of unused AIDs isassociated with a restriction condition (a terminal restrictioncondition) imposed on the terminal 200 that transmits an RA signal. Thatis, the AP 100 specifies, using a plurality of unused AIDs, a terminalrestriction condition imposed on the terminal 200 that transmits an RAsignal.

As in an example shown in FIG. 17 , the AID controller 103, 205determines AID=2008 and AID=2009 as unused AIDs corresponding tomodified User Info's specifying RA-RUs. Furthermore, the AID controller103, 205 assigns different terminal restriction conditions to AID=2008and AID=2009 respectively. The Trigger frame generator 104 of the AP 100sets AID=2008 or 2009 in AID12 subfields thereby informing the terminal200 that the User Info fields including the AID12 subfield are both inthe modified User Info format.

In FIG. 17 , the AP 100 specifies connection conditions of the terminal200 as the terminal restriction conditions different between respectiveunused AIDs specifying a modified User Info. More specifically, as shownin FIG. 17 , an RA-RU specified by AID=2008 is an RA-RU limited for usebetween the AP 100 and a terminal 200 (Associated STA) connected to theAP 100. An RA-RU specified by AID=2009 is an RA-RU limited for usebetween the AP 100 and an unconnected terminal 200 (Unassociated STA).

Thus, it is possible to classify terminals 200 transmitting an RA signalusing each RU into Associated STAs and Unassociated STAs. Therefore, theAP 100 sets an appropriate parameter individually for each connectioncondition of a terminal 200.

For example, the AP 100 already has information regarding an AssociatedSTA (in terms of a communication condition of a terminal 200), and thusthe AP 100 is capable of properly adjusting an uplink parameter (power,MCS, or the like) for the Associated STA. In contrast, the AP 100 doesnot have information regarding an Unassociated STA, and thus the AP 100sets a high-error-resilience robust value as an uplink parameter for theUnassociated STA. Thus, as shown in FIG. 17 , the AP 100 sets RA-RUsseparately for the Associated STA and the Unassociated STA, and performsscheduling such that OFDMA-multiplexing does not occur in the samepacket thereby making it possible to achieve, for example, a reductionin interference between terminals 200 for which different parameters(for example, transmission power) are set. Furthermore, the AP 100 mayset an MCS with higher error resilience to an Unassociated STA therebypreventing degradation in performance.

In an alternative example, the AP 100 may specify a transmission powercondition of a terminal 200 as a terminal restriction condition that isdifferent for each unused AID indicating a modified User Info (notillustrated in figures). More specifically, an RA-RU specified byAID=2008 is an RA-RU limited for use by a terminal 200 which has anavailable minimum power that is equal to or smaller than a requireduplink transmission power, that is, which is capable of performingtransmission with the required uplink transmission power. An RA-RUspecified by AID=2009 is an RA-RU limited for use by a terminal 200which has an available minimum power greater than a required uplinktransmission power, that is, which is not capable of performingtransmission with required uplink transmission power.

Thus, the AP 100 may performing scheduling such that OFDMA-multiplexingis not performed in the same packet for a terminal 200 that is notcapable of performing transmission with required uplink transmissionpower and a terminal 200 that is capable of performing transmission withrequired uplink transmission power thereby achieving a reduction ininterference between the terminals 200. The AP 100 may set an MCS withhigher error resilience to a terminal 200 that is not capable ofperforming transmission with required uplink transmission power therebypreventing degradation in performance.

In an alternative example, as a terminal restriction condition differentfor each unused AID specifying a modified User Info, the AP 100 mayspecify a transmission data restriction condition (not illustrated)imposed on a terminal 200. More specifically AID=2008 may specify amodified User Info including Trigger Dependent user Info information ina User Info field, while AID=2009 may specify a modified User Infoincluding no Trigger Dependent user Info information in a User Infofield.

In a case where a User Info field includes Trigger Dependent user Infoinformation (that is, in a case where an A-MPDU (Aggregate MAC protocoldata unit), which is a combination of a plurality of MPDUs, is used), itis predicted that a processing time of a process performed by the AP 100is longer than in a case where there is no Trigger Dependent user Infoinformation. In view of the above, for example, the AP 100 may performscheduling such that an RU used by a terminal 200 is selected dependingon the processing time for an uplink signal that is transmitted inresponse to an instruction by a Trigger frame thereby achieving anincrease in RU usage efficiency.

Note that the terminal restriction conditions are not limited to theconnection condition of the terminal 200, the transmission powercondition, and the transmission data restriction condition describedabove.

According to the specific example 2-2, as described above, by providingan instruction in which a plurality of unused AIDs are associated withrestriction conditions imposed on the terminal 200, the AP 100 iscapable of properly performing scheduling of RA-RUs depending on a stateof the terminal 200.

Note that in the specific example 2-2, RA-RUs specified by one Triggerframe are not limited to contiguous RUs such as those shown in FIG. 17 .For example, RUs located in discontinuous areas separated from eachother may be specified as shown in FIG. 18 .

The specific examples 1 and 2 of methods of specifying a format of aUser Info field using an unused AID have been described above.

In the above-described examples, the parameter specified by the modifiedUser Info is, by way of example, the MCS. However, other parameters(Coding Type, DCM, Target RSSI) may also specified in a similar mannerto the MCS.

Advantageous Effects

According to the present embodiment, as described above, the Triggerframe generator 104 of the AP 100 sets an unused AID, which is not to beused in Scheduled access, in a modified User Info specifying one or morecontiguous resource units for random access in a Trigger frame. Thismakes it possible for a terminal 200 to make a determination, based on avalue of an AID indicated in an AID12 subfield of each User Info fieldof the Trigger frame, as to whether the User Info field is a modifiedUser Info or not.

According to the present embodiment, therefore, it is not necessary touse (consume) a Reserved area of a Trigger type to specify a modifiedUser Info. That is, it is possible to specify a modified User Info whileleaving room for future extension of the standard. Thus, according tothe present embodiment, it is possible to properly set a modified UserInfo in a Trigger frame.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, by setting a pluralityof modified User Info's (or a normal User Info and at least one modifiedUser Info) in one Trigger frame, it becomes possible to allocate notonly contiguous RUs but uncontiguous RUs, and it also becomes possibleto specify different parameters for the respective User Info's. Thismakes it possible to specify a parameter depending on a predictedperformance for each of a plurality of RA-RUs specified by a Triggerframe, thereby achieving an increase in throughput.

Second Embodiment

For example, in a case where a modified User Info is set as describedabove with reference to FIG. 6A or other figures, it is under discussionto reduce the Trigger frame size by deleting the Trigger DependentCommon Info subfield and the Trigger Dependent User Info subfield.

However, in a case where the Trigger Type is the Basic Trigger (see FIG.3 ) (in a case where the Trigger frame instructs normal datatransmission without imposing any restriction on the format of theuplink signal), it is useful not only in Scheduled access but also in RAtransmission that a User Info field includes a Trigger Dependent UserInfo subfield thereby providing a notification of restrictioninformation (a restriction on the number of combined MPDUs, arecommended AC, or the like) on uplink transmission data shown in FIG. 5.

In view of the above, a second embodiment provides a method ofefficiently transmitting restriction information on uplink transmissiondata when a modified User Info is transmitted.

According to the present embodiment, a wireless communication systemincludes an AP (radio transmission apparatuses) 300 and a terminal(radio reception apparatus) 400. The AP 300 transmits a Trigger framespecifying an RA transmission to the terminal 400. The terminal 400receives the Trigger frame and transmits RA to the AP 300 using aresource specified in the Trigger frame.

[Configuration of AP]

FIG. 19 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the AP 300according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 19 , similar blocksoperating in a similar manner to blocks according to the firstembodiment (FIG. 8 ) are denoted by similar reference symbols, and adescription thereof is omitted. More specifically, the AP 300 isdifferent from the AP 100 (FIG. 8 ) according to the first embodiment inthat a Trigger dependent information controller 301 is additionallyprovided and the Trigger frame generator 302 operates in a differentmanner.

The Trigger dependent information controller 301 determines Triggerdependent information (Trigger Dependent Common Info or TriggerDependent User Info) depending on Trigger Type, and outputs Triggerdependent information (restriction information on uplink transmissiondata) and information indicating a field and a subfield in which theTrigger dependent information is located to the Trigger frame generator302.

The location of the Trigger dependent information in the Trigger frameis defined, for example, by specifications or the like, and the locationis equally recognized by both a transmission apparatus and a receptionapparatus (the AP 300 and the terminal 400). For example, in a casewhere the Trigger Type is the Basic Trigger and the format of User Infofield is the modified User Info, restriction information on uplinktransmission data is included as Trigger dependent information in aTrigger frame. A method of applying the Trigger dependent information tothe terminal 400 will be described later.

The Trigger frame generator 302 performs, in addition to the operationperformed by the Trigger frame generator 104 according to the firstembodiment, an operation of setting Trigger dependent information in apredetermined field and subfield of the Trigger frame according to aninstruction given by the Trigger dependent information controller 301.

[Configuration of Terminal]

FIG. 20 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the terminal400 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 20 , similar blocksoperating in a similar manner to blocks according to the firstembodiment (FIG. 9 ) are denoted by similar reference symbols, and adescription thereof is omitted. More specifically the terminal 400 isdifferent from the terminal 200 (FIG. 9 ) according to the firstembodiment in that a Trigger dependent information acquisition unit 401is additionally provided and the RA generator 402 operates in adifferent manner.

The Trigger dependent information acquisition unit 401 acquires Triggerdependent information (Trigger Dependent Common Info or TriggerDependent User Info) from the Trigger frame output from the Triggerframe decoder 204, and outputs the acquired Trigger dependentinformation to the RA generator 402.

Based on the RA-RU and control information for generating the RA signaldetermined by the RA resource determination unit 206 and the Triggerdependent information output from the Trigger dependent informationacquisition unit 401, the RA generator 402 generates an RA signalincluding a terminal ID and transmission information (data, controlinformation, or the like) associated with the terminal 400.

[Operations of AP 300 and Terminal 400]

Next, operations of the AP 300 and the terminal 400 according to thepresent embodiment are described.

In a case where the Trigger Type is the Basic Trigger, the AP 300specifies restriction information on uplink transmission data as theTrigger dependent information even when the format of the User Infofield is the modified User Info.

Specific examples 1 to 3 of methods of specifying restrictioninformation on uplink transmission data in a Trigger frame including amodified User Info are described below.

Specific Example 1

As illustrated in FIG. 6A, in a Trigger frame in which a modified UserInfo does not include a Trigger Dependent User Info subfield, when theTrigger Type is the Basic Trigger, in order for the terminal 400 todetect the size of each User Info field in the Trigger frame (in orderto detect a boundary between of each User Info field), it is necessaryto decode an AID12 subfield of each User Info field, which results in anincrease in complexity of a reception process performed by the terminal400.

In view of the above, in the specific example 1, in a case where theTrigger Type is the Basic Trigger, the modified User Info is configuredsuch that a Trigger Dependent User Info subfield is included also in themodified User Info, and restriction information on uplink data is set asTrigger dependent information.

That is, in a case where the Trigger Type of the Trigger frame is theBasic Trigger, the Trigger frame generator 302 of the AP 300 setsrestriction information on uplink signal in transmission in the modifiedUser Info.

More specifically, in an example shown in FIG. 21 , a Trigger frameincludes a mixture of normal User Info's (AID=1 and 2) specifying RUsfor Scheduled access and modified User Info's (AID=0) specifying aplurality of RA-RUs. Furthermore, in FIG. 21 , Basic Trigger isspecified in a Trigger Type subfield of a Common Info field.

In this case, in each normal User Info, restriction information onuplink transmission data specific for each terminal is set as TriggerDependent User Info. On the other hand, in each modified User Info, onlyin a case where the Basic Trigger is set as the Trigger Type,restriction information on uplink transmission data to be applied to anRA-RU is set as Trigger Dependent User Info.

Thus, in a case where the Trigger Type included in Common Info of theTrigger frame is the Basic Trigger, it is possible to determine that allUser Info fields have sizes (for example 5 bytes) including the TriggerDependent User Info, that is, they have an equal size). That is, theterminal 400 does not need to decode an AID12 subfield of each User Infofield to detect the User Info field size.

According to the specific example 1, as described above, the User Infofield size is uniquely determined from the Trigger Type regardless ofthe User Info field format, and thus simplification of the receptionprocess performed by the terminal 400 is achieved.

Furthermore, the AP 300 can notify of Trigger Dependent user Infoinformation even in a modified User Info. Also in RA transmission by theterminal 400, restriction information on data transmission can beeffectively used as in Scheduled access transmission.

Specific Example 2

In the specific example 2, in a case where the Trigger Type of theTrigger frame is the Basic Trigger, a restriction on uplink signaltransmission is imposed on the terminal 400 which is instructed to useone or more contiguous RA-RUs specified by a modified User Info in theTrigger frame.

That is, in the specific example 2, as in an example shown in FIG. 22 ,in a case where the Trigger Type is the Basic Trigger, unlike thespecific example 1 (FIG. 21 ), any modified User Info does not include aTrigger Dependent User Info subfield.

As for a fixed restriction imposed on uplink data transmitted by theterminal 400, for example, an MPDU MU Spacing Factor and a TIDAggregation Limit may be limited to fixed values (a single MPDU with asmall size) assuming that the number of MPDUs=1. This makes it possibleto prevent the AP 300 from having a delay in response time. Note thatthe fixed restriction on the uplink data transmitted by the terminal 400is not limited to the fixed value assuming that the number of MPDUs=1,but other values may be employed.

Thus, in the specific example 2, when the Trigger Type is the BasicTrigger, by specifying a plurality of RA-RUs using a modified User Infoas in the first embodiment, it is possible to apply the restriction onthe RA transmission using RA-RUs specified by the modified User Infowhile reducing the Trigger Frame size.

Specific Example 3

In the specific example 3, in a case where the Trigger Type is the BasicTrigger, as shown in FIG. 23 , a Common Info includes a TriggerDependent Common Info subfield, and restriction information on datatransmission is set by a parameter which is common for allOFDM-multiplexed terminals 400.

That is, in a case where the Trigger Type of the Trigger frame is theBasic Trigger, the Trigger frame generator 302 of the AP 300 setsrestriction information on the uplink signal transmission in the CommonInfo.

That is, in the specific example 3, in the User Info field, therestriction information on uplink signal in transmission is not setregardless of the format of the User Info field (the modified User Infoor the normal User Info). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 23 , even in thecase where the Trigger Type is the Basic Trigger, the Trigger DependentUser Info subfield is not included in either the modified User Info orthe normal User Info.

Setting the restriction information in the Common Info causes therestriction condition on data transmission to be equal for allOFDM-multiplexed terminals 400. However, the User Info includes noTrigger Dependent User Info subfield, and thus a reduction in theTrigger Frame size is achieved.

In the specific example 3, regardless of the format of the User Infofield, the User Info includes no Trigger Dependent user Info field, andthus the size of all User Info fields are uniquely determined by theTrigger Type as in the specific example 1. Therefore, it becomesunnecessary for the terminal 400 to decode the AID12 subfield of eachUser Info field to detect the User Info field size, and thussimplification of the reception process performed by the terminal 400 isachieved.

Specific examples 1 to 3 of methods of specifying restrictioninformation on uplink transmission data in a Trigger frame including amodified User Info have been described above.

In FIGS. 21 to 23 , RA-RUs specified by one Trigger frame are, by way ofexample, contiguous RUs. However, the RA-RUs are not limited tocontiguous RUs. RUs located in discontinuous areas separated from eachother (not shown) may be specified by one Trigger frame as in the firstembodiment (for example, FIG. 13 , FIG. 15 , and FIG. 18 ).

Furthermore, the above-described operations according to the presentembodiment are not limited to the case where the Trigger Type is theBasic Trigger. For example, when the Trigger Type allows RA transmissionand the Trigger Type includes Trigger Dependent User Info, theoperations according to the present embodiment are possible in a similarmanner as described above, and similar effects can be achieved.

The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above.

Other Embodiments

(1) As shown in FIG. 24 , one Trigger frame may include a mixture ofspecifying of an RA-RU using a modified User Info or a normal User Infodescribed above with reference to the embodiments and specifying of aScheduled access RU.

(2) In the embodiments described above, the methods of specifying themodified User Info using an unused AID have been explained. Instead ofan unused AID, the modified User Info may be specified using a Reservedarea (1 bit) in a User Info field. For example, one bit in the Reservedarea may be used to specify the format of the User Info field indicatingwhether the format is the modified User Info or the normal User Info.Alternatively, the modified User Info may be specified using anothersubfield in the User Info field. For example, AID=0 may specify anRA-RU, and, without disabling DCM in the RA-RU, one bit of DCM may beused to specify the format to indicate whether the format is themodified User Info or the normal User Info.

(3) In specifying an RA-RU, a predetermination may be made as to theorder, in the Trigger frame, of notifying the normal User Info(specified by AID=0) and the modified User Info (specified by an usedAID with a value of AID≠0). This makes it possible to achievesimplification of the reception process performed by the terminal.

In the specifications, to simplify the reception process at theterminal, the notification order is defined such that, a User Info inthe Trigger frame, a notification of a Scheduled access RU is given andthen a notification of an RA-RU is given. In a case where notificationsof RA-RUs are given by a mixture of the normal User Info and themodified User Info as in the present embodiment, predetermining of thenotification order of these User Info's makes it possible to simplifythe reception process at the terminal.

For example, as shown in FIG. 25 , the notification order may bepredetermined such that the notification is to be given in order“notification of a Scheduled access RU (in the example shown in FIG. 25, User Info's specifying individually terminals with AID=1, 2)”,“notification of an RA-RU using a modified User Info (in the exampleshown in FIG. 25 , specified by AID=2048), and “notification of an RA-RUusing a normal User Info (in the example shown in FIG. 25 , specified byAID=0). By predetermining the notification order as described above,when there is an overlap between specified RA-RUs as in embodimentsdescribed above (for example, see FIG. 16 ), the reception process atthe terminal can be simplified, for example, such that the instructionin modified User Info is overwritten with the normal User Info.

Furthermore, the notification order of a plurality of modified UserInfo's included in one Trigger frame may be predetermined such that thenotification is to be given in the descending order of the number ofcontiguous RUs specified by modified User Info's. By predetermining thenotification order as described above, when there is an overlap betweenspecified RA-RUs as in embodiments described above (for example, seeFIG. 11 ), the reception process at the terminal can be simplified, forexample, such that a modified User Info specifying a large number ofcontiguous RUs is overwritten with a modified User Info specifying asmall number of contiguous RUs.

(4) The present disclosure may be implemented by software, hardware, orsoftware in corporation with hardware. Each functional block describedin the embodiments may be partially or totally implemented by an LSI,which is an integrated circuit. Each process described in theembodiments may be partially or totally controlled by one LSI or acombination of LSIs. One LSI may be realized by one chip. One chip mayinclude a part or all functional blocks. Each LSI may include data inputand output. The LSI may also be called an IC, a system LSI, a super LSI,or an ultra LSI depending on the integration density. The method ofimplementing the integrated circuit is not limited to the LSI, but theintegrated circuit may be implemented in the form of a dedicated circuitor a general-purpose processor. The integrated circuit may also berealized using an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that can beprogrammed after the LSI is produced or a reconfigurable processor thatis allowed to be reconfigured in terms of the connection or the settingof circuit cells in the inside of the LSI. The present disclosure may beimplemented by digital or analog processing. When a new integrationcircuit technique other than LSI techniques are realized in the futureby an advance in semiconductor technology or related technology, thefunctional blocks may be realized using such a new technique. Use ofbiotechnology is potentially possible.

A communication apparatus according to the present disclosure includes atrigger signal generator that generates a trigger signal instructing anuplink signal transmission, wherein in a case where the trigger signalincludes a first terminal information field specifying one or morecontiguous resource units for random access, an unused ID that is not tobe used as a terminal ID is set in the terminal ID subfield in the firstterminal information field, and a transmitter that transmits thegenerated trigger signal.

In the communication apparatus according to the present disclosure, whena resource unit for random access is specified, one value of an unusedID is set in a terminal ID subfield.

In the communication apparatus according to the present disclosure, in acase where a trigger signal includes a plurality of first terminalinformation fields, when there is an overlap at one or more ofcontiguous resource units for random access specified respectively bythe first terminal information fields, priority of a plurality of firstterminal information fields for the overlapping resource units isdetermined such that priority is given to an instruction described in afirst terminal information field specifying a smaller number of resourceunits.

In the communication apparatus according to the present disclosure, whena resource unit for random access is specified, there are a plurality ofvalues of unused IDs that can be set in a terminal ID subfield.

In the communication apparatus according to the present disclosure, thetrigger signal generator sets a first unused ID value, of a plurality ofunused ID values, in a terminal ID subfield in a first terminalinformation field, and sets a second unused ID value in a terminal IDsubfield in a second terminal information field specifying one resourceunit for random access. In a case where there is an overlap between aresource unit specified by the first terminal information field and aresource unit specified by the second terminal information field,priority in the overlapping resource units is determined such thatpriority is given to an instruction indicated in the second terminalinformation field.

In the communication apparatus according to the present disclosure, eachof the unused ID values is associated with a restriction conditionimposed on a terminal that transmits a random access signal.

In the communication apparatus according to the present disclosure, in acase where a trigger signal is of a type that imposes no restriction onthe format of an uplink signal, the trigger signal generator setsinformation in the first terminal information field to specify arestriction on the uplink signal in transmission.

In the communication apparatus according to the present disclosure, in acase where a trigger signal is of a type that imposes no restriction onthe format of an uplink signal, a restriction on an uplink signal intransmission is applied to a terminal instructed to use one or morecontiguous resource units for random access specified by the firstterminal information field of the trigger signal.

In the communication apparatus according to the present disclosure, in acase where a trigger signal is of a type that imposes no restriction onthe format of an uplink signal, the trigger signal generator setsinformation indicating a restriction on an uplink signal in transmissionnot in the first terminal information field but in a common informationfield including information common for terminals.

The communication method according to the present disclosure includesgenerating a trigger signal instructing an uplink signal transmission.In a case where the trigger signal includes a first terminal informationfield specifying one or more contiguous resource units for randomaccess, an unused ID unused as a terminal ID is set in a terminal IDsubfield in the first terminal information field, and the generatedtrigger signal is transmitted.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

An aspect of the present disclosure is useful for effectively usingredundant fields or for reducing redundant fields.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   100, 300 AP    -   101 RA resource controller    -   102 User Info controller    -   103, 205 AID controller    -   104, 302 Trigger frame generator    -   105, 208 transmission signal modulator    -   106, 202 radio transmitter/receiver    -   107, 201 antenna    -   108, 203 reception signal demodulator    -   109 quality estimator    -   200, 400 terminal    -   204 Trigger frame decoder    -   206 RA resource determination unit    -   207, 402 RA generator    -   301 Trigger dependent information controller    -   401 Trigger dependent information acquisition unit

1. A communication apparatus, comprising: a receiver which, inoperation, receives a trigger frame comprising a first User Informationfield, a second User Information field, and a third User Informationfield, the first User Information field comprising a first terminal IDsubfield and a first Resource Unit (RU) Allocation subfield, the secondUser Information field comprising a second terminal ID subfield and asecond RU Allocation subfield, and the third User Information fieldcomprising a third terminal ID subfield and a third RU Allocationsubfield, wherein a first value other than values used for a terminal IDis set to the first terminal ID subfield for Random Access of a stationassociated with an access point, the first RU Allocation subfieldindicates a first starting RU of one or more first contiguous RandomAccess RUs (RA-RUs), and the first User Information field furthercomprises a first number of RA-RU subfield indicating a first number ofRUs in the one or more first contiguous RA-RUs, a second value otherthan values used for a terminal ID is set to the second terminal IDsubfield for Random Access of a station unassociated with the accesspoint, the second RU Allocation subfield indicates a second starting RUof one or more second contiguous RA-RUs, and the second User Informationfield further comprises a second number of RA-RU subfield indicating asecond number of RUs in the one or more second contiguous RA-RUs, and athird value used for a terminal ID is set to the third terminal IDsubfield for Scheduled Access of a station associated with the accesspoint, and all of User Information fields for Scheduled Access includingthe third User Information field precede all of User Information fieldsfor Random Access including the first User Information field and thesecond User Information field in the trigger frame; and at least oneantenna, wherein, in a first case where the communication apparatus isassociated with the access point, the at least one antenna transmits anuplink signal using at least one of the one or more first contiguousRA-RUs, and, in a second case where the communication apparatus isunassociated with the access point, the at least one antenna transmitsan uplink signal using at least one of the one or more second contiguousRA-RUs.
 2. The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theone or more first contiguous RA-RUs that are allocated by the first UserInformation field do not overlap with the one or more second contiguousRA-RUs that are allocated by the second User Information field.
 3. Thecommunication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a coding type anda Modulation and Coding Scheme (MCS) are configured separately for theone or more first contiguous RA-RUs that are allocated by the first UserInformation field and the one or more second contiguous RA-RUs that areallocated by the second User Information field.
 4. An integrated circuitfor a communication apparatus, the integrated circuit comprising: atleast one input, which, in operation, inputs a signal; and controlcircuitry, which, in operation, controls: receiving a trigger framecomprising a first User Information field, a second User Informationfield, and a third User Information field, the first User Informationfield comprising a first terminal ID subfield and a first Resource Unit(RU) Allocation subfield, the second User Information field comprising asecond terminal ID subfield and a second RU Allocation subfield, and thethird User Information field comprising a third terminal ID subfield anda third RU Allocation subfield, wherein a first value other than valuesused for a terminal ID is set to the first terminal ID subfield forRandom Access of a station associated with an access point, the first RUAllocation subfield indicates a first starting RU of one or more firstcontiguous Random Access RUs (RA-RUs), and the first User Informationfield further comprises a first number of RA-RU subfield indicating afirst number of RUs in the one or more first contiguous RA-RUs, a secondvalue other than values used for a terminal ID is set to the secondterminal ID subfield for Random Access of a station unassociated withthe access point, the second RU Allocation subfield indicates a secondstarting RU of one or more second contiguous RA-RUs, and the second UserInformation field further comprises a second number of RA-RU subfieldindicating a second number of RUs in the one or more second contiguousRA-RUs, and a third value used for a terminal ID is set to the thirdterminal ID subfield for Scheduled Access of a station associated withthe access point, and all of User Information fields for ScheduledAccess including the third User Information field precede all of UserInformation fields for Random Access including the first UserInformation field and the second User Information field in the triggerframe; and in a first case where the communication apparatus isassociated with the access point, transmitting an uplink signal using atleast one of the one or more first contiguous RA-RUs; and in a secondcase where the communication apparatus is unassociated with the accesspoint, transmitting an uplink signal using at least one of the one ormore second contiguous RA-RUs.